Gravitation
by Cr0w
Summary: They say that the Cave of Origin is where all things begin, and that Mt. Pyre is where all things end. It was at the Cave of Origin that I found my beginning. To think that I never thought that I would become a trainer. [formerly .To Live.]
1. Prologue

**To Live: Prologue**

They say that the Cave of Origin is where all things begin, and that Mt. Pyre is where all things end.

It was at the Cave of Origin that I found _my_ beginning.

Often times during my youth in Sootopolis City, I sneaked out of the house after I had put my mother had to bed so that I could seek refuge among the stars at the entrance to the Cave of Origin.

Because Mt. Pyre seemed so dreadfully far away, I always believed that the deceased found their way to the stars instead. Whenever a star winked at me, I fantasized that it was one of my ancestors watching over me.

It was on one of these nights that I found them... my beginning.

In truth, many make sure to steer clear of the Cave. The mysterious aura surrounding it sets off a warning bell in the minds of many, humans and Pokémon alike. However, I feel strangely at peace whenever I enter it or even come near it. Perhaps this is the reason I always feel so secure when I am in Sootopolis.

In a world full of Pokémon, I never really thought that I would ever become a trainer. Maybe it was because of my undernourished environment relating to Pokémon while I was growing up. My mother didn't particularly care for Pokémon; my father had died while on a Pokémon journey when I was seven years old. Subsequently, my mother became mentally unstable and it was my responsibility to care for her. I always imagined that I would continue to care for my mother until event one of us passed on. It occurred to me that I should get a Pokémon to assist me in looking after my mother, but Pokémon journey was never an possibility for me.

Whenever I wasn't looking after my mother, my time was usually taken up by my self-education. Aside from the school in Rustboro City, it was left up to the parents to educate the children. Some were educated by their parents, but, after my father passed away and my mother became mentally unstable, I had no one to educate me. It was then that I took my education into my own hands. History textbooks, math textbooks, science textbooks, and just plain books were all devoured in my search for knowledge. Thanks to my diligence, I finished my education by the time I was thirteen, and the meaning of free time was opened up to me.

Most times, I didn't know what to do with myself, and I ended up devouring even more books and spending even more time at the Cave of Origin.

**Author's Note: **_title, genre, rating, plot, and pretty much everything else is subject to change... heh._** Please feel free to tell me what you think. If you have any comments, review! Also, I am always open to criticism and even flaming... This story will probably go through immense changes over time, but we'll see... Also, please keep in mind, this is a _prologue_. I know that it is short.

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	2. Chapter 1

**To Live: Chapter 1**

Ah yes, the wonders of Asian supermarkets.

It was a typical Saturday evening. I was visiting the local supermarket with my neighbor. She generously offers to take me every week when she goes shopping (to tell the truth, I think she feels sorry for me). Because my mother is incapable of shopping, that duty is left to me.

As I mentioned before, it was a typical Saturday evening, and the supermarket was in a typical condition as well.

Except for the fact that it was election week.

Upon my walking up to the entrance of the grocery store, an old lady shoved a political flier in my face. I politely refused, insisting that I was too young to vote, but she gave it to me anyway. While attempting to decipher the characters on the page, I immediately deduced that it was in some foreign language and that, judging by the name spelled out in big bold letters at the top, it attempted to persuade me to vote for the candidate (the one whose name was glaring at me from the top of the flier) in the upcoming election. I thought of how wasteful it was of them to give a flier to someone who would waste the precious processed branch of a tree.

While staring at the thin sheet of pulverized tree flesh covered in carbon black and a heavy varnish (a.k.a. paper and ink), I failed to notice a bump in the rug as I entered the small, drafty, shopping cart-filled anteroom of the supermarket. I stumbled into a woman carrying a baby and received a few inhospitable glares from my fellow consumers.

I gave a sheepish smile and turned to my right as I attempted to retrieve a shopping cart. Looking up from the shopping cart that I had just managed to extract from the others, an interesting sight met my eyes.

On the add for an automobile, there was the picture of a cocky looking human of the male gender.

Besides the fact that there were lipstick-prints from at least a hundred crazed fan-girls all over the picture, I could still make out the features of the specimen of the human species. His hair was a glossy green that matched his eye color. He was holding a red rose up to his lips and looked as if he was trying to seduce the camera that had taken the picture. He also looked like he was trying extremely hard to do so... too hard. I rolled my eyes.

Oh, but of course, it was the Pokémon coordinator known simply as "Drew" to the public. Many claimed that, despite his young age, he would become the best Pokémon coordinator yet.

Next to Drew's picture was a picture of Ash Ketchum with a pokéball in his outstretched hand. He had an overconfident smirk on his face, his Pokémon, a pikachu, on his shoulder, black hair spiking in every which way, and a Pokémon league cap on to top it all off.

I immediately noticed that there were no lipstick-prints on his picture. How odd.

Many claimed that, even at his young age, young Ketchum would become the best Pokémon trainer yet.

Of course, there were other promising young trainers and coordinators...

In any case, the rest of the add was taken up with a picture of a chair, a flower vase, and the advertised automobile. What these five things had in common escaped me, but I had no time to ponder it, for my neighbor and escort ushered me inside the sliding glass doors of the supermarket.

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If there was an award for the most grotesque part of Asian supermarkets, I would feel _compelled_ to award it to the seafood section. Carefully marked "SEAFOOD" in neat, sea-green letters, it is the largest and, even through the grotesqueness, most fascinating part of the typical Asian food market.

I walked peacefully along, pushing my shopping cart and scanning the imported food, and, as I was innocently minding my own business, it hit me: the salty, decidedly fishy, somewhat offensive odor.

The first thing I saw was the fish. They lay before me, a banquet of fishy glory in all shapes and sizes. They were fresh out of the water and, to put it simply, fully intact. Looking into their eyes, which, by the way, were still in place, I could see the glaze of death clouding their retinas.

I moved on, still pushing my shopping cart. Next, I saw a tank. Inside the tank, I saw fish. Inside the tank, I saw _dead_ fish. The fish were belly-up and somewhat bloated, and I realized that nobody would be eating _them_ anytime soon. Oh, how heavenly.

Moving on once again, I continued to see the smorgasbord of fish to my left. Beneath the display, I saw the tanks of fish again, except, this time, they were actually _alive_. I gave a sarcastic laugh as I walked past, knowing that they would soon join their brethren in fish heaven.

A tank of eel-like creatures were all clamoring for one point in their prison. It seemed as if they would suffocate themselves the way the mass squirmed about, one on top of the other.

I pushed my cart by a bin of large shells, inside which were live snails.

Next to the shells, there was a tray bearing long, brown, thin, stick-like objects. I inferred that they were some type of food, and that they were most likely alive or were once living.

I watched as my neighbor, who was, at that time, to my right, picked out a few good cucumbers to buy.

When I looked back down at the long, brown, thin, stick-like objects (seriously, that is very inconvenient to say and write down, so, from this day forward, I shall refer to them as LBTSLOs), I found what looked like peach-colored slimy flesh oozing out of one of the LBTSLOs. Oh, don't get me wrong, I am not squeamish. I was simply... startled. In fact, I was so startled that my heart skipped a beat and I quickly jumped back.

Once my heart rate had returned to normal, I looked back at the LBTSLOs. I imagined that the peach-colored thing was a tongue and that the LBTSLO was sticking its tongue out as it died. Looking at the label, I found that the LBTSLOs were actually "long mussels," and that ended any speculation I had had over whether the LBTSLOs were plants or animals. (For those that didn't get the picture, they are, in fact, animals.)

I passed more trays containing... unmentionables... as I continued walking.

I passed plastic containers of live amphibians and turtle-like animals and wondered if they knew that they were soon going to meet their doom.

I spotted my neighbor once again, and I told her that I had gotten everything I needed. She told me to wait where I was while she got something else.

It just so happened that "where I was" was next to the crab bin. A couple of customers took some to purchase. However, a boy of about eleven years of age stood there with the tongs playing with the poor souls. He took the claw of one of them in the tongs and bent it back and forth with such force that I was afraid that the poor thing would lose its entire limb.

Eventually, a woman who I imagined was his mother came over and scolded him for his actions, leading him away from the bin.

A boy of about the age of 21 was standing on a bar of the lower portion of his shopping cart. I couldn't possibly call him a man, could I? I used to do that... when I was FOUR. He had two earrings on each ear and an enormous overbite. As he smiled, showing his disfigured teeth, I wished that the opposite side of the shopping cart would flip up and hit him in the face.

He gave me a long calculating stare. I returned it with the most disgusted expression I could muster.

My neighbor returned and led me to the checkout counters.

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_**Author's Note:** I hope that you enjoyed my second installment of "To Live." eh. It sounds like a science fiction film. This chapter is pretty much to help you get used to the main character (who shall remain unnamed and genderless. Heh.) and my alternate writing style. That's right, I can write both seriously and, well, not seriously. This is, in fact, based on actual events... The next installment is under way._

**Review replies for "Prologue":**

**ChaseVoid:** Thank you, I try :). Yes, yes. I wonder too... just kidding. While I don't know what exactly will happen to unnamed&&genderless, I, of course, have the main plot in my brain.

**stars-are-falling: **I'm so happy you think so, Annie! Thank you so much! Your review makes me feel like I've accomplished so much. :)

**To the both of you:** I really appreciate your reviews. They help me monitor how I am coming along, not to mention the warm fuzzy feeling they give me inside. :3. So, thank you so much, it means a lot to me. :D


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